Somehow I love a game about being a janitor! Here are my thoughts on what kind of things could be added to make the game more complex.
So far the game is very slow. It takes a while to clean even one area of a level and takes dedication to satisfy your employers' honor and clean the entire facility. It feels deliberate that cleaning an floor or section of a space station would take time and can't be rushed. Can't spill those water buckets with its precious clean water! Picking things up, dropping them into the bins, carefully moving the bins into the incinerator so the trash and remains don't fly out of the bin, its all so slow and planned out.
Portable lighting:
Parts of the levels are dark and it seems for a reason! How can one mop with no sight? There are some moveable lights situated around each level, maybe two per level. I like how you have to find them, it is not like it is in your inventory. Unfortunately they are also very fragile. One misstep and they break destroying your light source. Now you can get along fine without a light, with difficulty. I can imagine a sewer level or a industrial sector that requires lighting.
My suggestion: A portable light that has to be recharged. Maybe there are multiple ones you can have lying in your janitor closet. I would imagine two or three total. They should be breakable but also repairable.
Like I said about the game being slow and methodical repair times and recharge times should be about 1 minute each. Short enough for the player to go off to do something quick and come back but long enough for the player to not want to wait around for the light source.
If the player feels like they can simply wait for the light source to be functional then there is no point in having to repair or recharge a light source. Moving around a light source and placing it should be a planned action. The fear of the light source breaking will be a constant off-put for using the portable light source.
Portable vacuum: One of the things that takes the longest in the game so far is collecting all the little bullet casings and dropping them one by one in to the bins. While time consuming it doesn't feel too realistic. If I were doing it in real life I'd be picking more than one up by hand. Given that you can only pick up one object at a time I suggest a portable vacuum.
-It can only suck up small objects, perhaps sucks larger objects towards and maybe get stuck to the hose.
-It could be slow to move as it is on wheels. The slow use of it, moving it and setting it up properly could be the off-set for using it.
-Backpack vacuum. I suggest that it either makes you move and turn slow (you are carrying a giant container on your back) or it has a small bag space that needs to be emptied or incinerated and replaced. (Potential third machine that dispenses vacuum bags)
I can't think of other tools you could use as there is only garbage and remains that need to be cleaned away. The mop does a fine job cleaning up spills and requires fresh water which makes needing to go back for buckets a good off-set. I keep hearing about mop upgrades but I think the mop is just fine as it is. It does what it does and has a balanced problem, getting it bloody and having to change the water bucket.
Other janitorial objectives:
Cleaning and elimination is great but that's not all a janitor does!
Another poster mentioned having to fix light bulbs. That's a great idea to implement. Using a ladder (another tool to put in, bucket stairs take a long time to make!) and moving around a breakable light, having to carefully go up the ladder with it and screwing in the new one. A good extra task.
Also perhaps cleaning out machines with your new tool: The ever useful rag! Dip that rag into the bucket (giving the water bucket a second function) and clean out those dirty machines! You can get into the machines, I'm guessing the size of the incinerator maybe smaller, by taking off the panel, like the panels on the walls on Splatter Station. Replace the panel and its good to go. Perhaps the machine could then be working and then can start dispense other objects for the almighty janitor to use.
The last thing I'd like to mention is the atmosphere. It all comes down to what you guys want to do with the game.
So far you are a janitor who has to:
-Clean up the mess made by aliens or monsters or..something terrible!
-It is quiet and you (or a friend) are the only ones there.
-It is dark in some places and hard to your do your job.
-Every so often you hear metal clanking, things being dropped and creaks.
Those noises could be a fellow worker on the space station. Or given that this game feels like it has a horror setting, it could be something sinister. Something that might not have been killed, still on the lose. I'm not saying "yes I want a action-jackson janitor!" but there could be something. A random trigger or that makes a monster come out of the many bloody vents. Throw buckets at it, throw garbage at it, throw it into the incinerator! It could be a super rare event that is very game changing. Given that this IS a janitor simulator it could be a neat bonus. Or you could try to make the game a bit more creepy and make the playerbase believe that there is a monster out there.
Maybe you can come back to a hallway and find remains where they weren't before. Spooky!
Win condition: I'll leave that up to you guys, you'll ultimately decide the direction of this fantastic original game.
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TLDR!
This is a super long post so to sum up my thoughts.
-The game feels slow and requires planning. I like the pacing.
-Portable lights for dark areas that require recharging and made repairable. 1 minute on repair / recharge. Max 2 or 3 given.
-Super dark levels that absolutely require lighting to see.
-Add a janitor closet or janitorial room to store or retrieve extra equipment.
-Portable slow moving or backpack vacuum to suck up small time consuming objects. Anything else gets stuck on the hose.
-Add the useful Rag! Found in your back pocket (part of inventory) to help clean machines!
-Janitor repair objectives! (not my idea) Replacing light bulbs that have to be carried carefully.
-Add light bulb machine to produce more light bulbs if needed.
-Danger! Add a potential danger to the space station. Long after everyone has gone to sleep a creature could be still roaming. Add as a bonus part of the game, not part of actual gameplay.
"What a load" of suggestions. I hope you guys at Runestorm have a blast continuing on this great game as I do cleaning up messy bloody remains!
